BASKETBALL: WARWICKSHIRE Bears fell short of reaching the national play-off finals for a third consecutive year after being defeated by London Titans at the weekend.
The Bears narrowly missed out on their ambition following a nail biting and enthralling game that went down to the final buzzer.
But it was London Titans who held out to finish in second place in the 1st Division South.
From tip-off, the Titans came out strong – breaking down Bears’ defence and making the most of the opportunities presented to them as Bears found it hard to follow through on their chances to equalise.
Titans took a strong early lead into the end of the first quarter at Bears 8-15 Titans.
In the second quarter, Bears were able to start cutting Titans’ lead with Ben Haigh and Jacob Robinson starting to find their shooting range.
Titans were able to match the Bears scoring and went into the half time with scores Bears 21 – 31 London Titans.
The third quarter was once a close game, with Bears unable to claw back any of the Titans early success and both teams went basket for basket to set up a thrilling last quarter with Titans still in a slight lead – Bears 39-47 Titans.
The final quarter was a nail biting end to the high stakes game, as Bears made once last charge to try and get in touch with the Titans and were able to get within four points before the experienced Titans team were able to shut them out once again.
Head coach Tom Masterson said: “The team are really disappointed to lose out, but on reflection they should be proud of what they have achieved this season.”
Bears are next in action when Bears 2 play at the national play-offs on June 2/3 in Worcester.
